


We Are

by WildflowerWoods



Category: Descendants (Disney Movies), The Isle of the Lost Series - Melissa de la Cruz
Genre: Anti-Magic Laws in United States of Auradon (Disney), Canonical Child Abuse, Character Analysis, Character Study, Child Abuse, Darker Than Disney Canon, Families of Choice, Found Family, Gen, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Isle of the Lost (Disney), Isle of the Lost (Disney) is a Terrible Place, Magic on the Isle of the Lost (Disney), Not Canon Compliant, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Politics on the Isle of the Lost (Disney), Protective Siblings, Ruler of Auradon Ben (Disney: Descendants), United States of Auradon (Disney), United States of Auradon (Disney) Is Not Perfect, Worldbuilding
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-22
Updated: 2020-07-03
Packaged: 2021-03-02 20:35:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 15,649
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24322897
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WildflowerWoods/pseuds/WildflowerWoods
Summary: Time is breaking.The foundations of the universe are unstableThe dead often don't stay that wayThe Isle is a prison without any guardsThe banished villains are furious and determined to get revenge.These are facts of the world they live in. These facts have always been true.The newer facts of the world are as follows;The barrier was broken, then repaired.The only occupants of the Isle are the children of those who were banished there.Auradon is at war.Then there is the conclusion Ben and his friends have just come to;If they want to survive this war, never mind win it, they're going to have to look for allies in unlikely places.Too bad those potential allies are too busy with their own problems and want absolutely nothing to do with him.
Relationships: Calista Jane "CJ" Hook & Harriet Hook & Harry Hook, Evie & Jay & Mal & Carlos de Vil, Gil & Harry Hook & Uma, No Romantic Relationship(s)
Comments: 10
Kudos: 56





	1. Heroes and Villains

**Author's Note:**

> This is just a first chapter to test people's reactions. If it's popular, I'll get the next chapter up soon so if you want to see more, comment down below.

Time is collapsing. It is crumbling, shattering, breaking, whatever term you want to use, it is falling apart and more fragile than ever. Time is not linear, humanity only perceives it to be that way. The fair folk and the gods know time can be messed with, that things happen out of order. The merfolk recognise that it isn’t all they think it is. The animal kingdom doesn’t even bother trying to count time. Mankind is alone in that endeavour.

But, the fact remains, while time is not linear it is still breaking, condensing and collapsing in on itself. Auradon and the Isle they created would not exist otherwise.

It all starts with Maleficent. It all ends with her too. Or, more accurately, the collapse of time starts with the birth of Aurora and actually happens with the death of Maleficent.

You see, sometimes, fairy tales overlap and, occasionally, two very different but very powerful things will happen at the same time.

Maleficent cursed baby Aurora at the exact same moment in time Fairy Godmother granted Cinderella’s wish to go to the ball. That’s a lot of light fae and dark fae magic happening at the same time. And, that’s where time starts to unravel.

That was not the only point Sleeping Beauty crossed another fairytale at an all-important moment. There is a reason Maleficent is the Mistress of all Evil.

Sixteen years after time started to unravel, Aurora pricks her finger on the spindle. At the exact same time several hundred miles away, Prince Eric stabs Ursula with a ship. The death of a cecaelia demigod and a halted death curse coming to fruition together. (Ursula was Triton’s sister after all, and a daughter of Amphitrite in her own right.)

There is a reason Ursula is the most feared after Maleficent.

One hundred years later, Snow White and Aurora receive what the world would come to call True Love’s Kiss together. Two powerful curses broken at once with the most powerful known cure.

And then, the thing that broke time, Maleficent was killed when Belle broke the curse on her Beast.

(True Love itself is still something the world is unable to define. It implies a strong bond between two people, but Snow White and Aurora had never met their princes. Belle, on the other hand, knew and loved hers.)

From Medeville Scotland to Twenty-Second Century San Fransokyo, eras and kingdoms were shoved together left and right, gods and magic clashing as the once-dead were dead no more. Chaos reigned.

Most of the heroes that found themselves in this new land had only just defeated the villains they had been faced with, they were exhausted and sought rest.

(A notable exception to this rule being Ariel and Eric, they’d just defeated Morgana, not Ursula. To say that they were surprised to see their old enemy alive again would be an understatement)

(The other notable exception was Princess Ella, formally known as Cinderella, who had since made peace with her step-family)

The once dead villains did not have this disadvantage. They were quick to recover and start causing chaos in this new world.

(A notable exception this time being Gaston, who just quietly went back to his village. Already soundly beaten. There was no point fighting over a girl who didn’t even like him, not when it would just get him killed again)

Belle and her Beast, Adam, were the ones to step up and lead the heroes. One by one, they gathered the villains, locking them away on the Isle of the lost and creating a barrier to keep them there. They united the scattered kingdoms under one banner, the United Kingdom of Auradon and peace reigned.

(Anita and Roger Radcliffe protested Cruella being sent to the Isle, claiming she needed help and medication, but because they were not royal, they got ignored)

Then, they move on to stabilizing time and retiring magic. The official reason for retiring magic was so that there was more to be used to keep the timeline stable and prevent time from breaking any more than it already had. The actual reason was because the newly crowned High King Adam was scared of it.

You can’t blame him for being scared. He was a child when he got cursed after all. You can, however, blame him for sending an entire village to the Isle because of what one man did.

The High King wasn’t the only one to do this, to banish people who he thought would be trouble down the line or the ones he just plain didn’t want to deal with. Ella’s prince sent her step-family—telling Ella that her sisters went to be with their mother—China sent the Hun army, whole civilisations sent every criminal they had, from the petty thieves to the murderers.

The point to note though, is that Auradon created the barrier _before_ stabilising time. As a result, time on the Isle works a little differently compared to Auradon.

  
  


The children of the Isle know this better than anyone. Nobody on the Isle actually knows how old they are, the best they can do is “well, you were around before her but after him”.

(Some of them know things because everyone else has told them. For example, Harriet Hook knows she is the first girl to be born on the Isle because Mr Smee has told her so repeatedly, just like she knows Gaston Junior was the first boy born on the Isle and that Antoine Tremaine is unique for their generation in the fact that he was not born on the Isle at all.)

(Harriet knows Samuel Smee came before her, and that Harry came after with Calista Jane and Jasmine being twins and younger than him. She knows Sally Smee is in between Harry and their younger sisters, but couldn’t tell you when. She knows that she Smee twins, Skipper and Sterling, are the youngest of the pirate kids. She cannot remember the order of any of the others.)

Pregnancies are shorter and babies become teenagers in mere weeks, rapidly learning to walk and talk.

Perhaps, as some have suggested, it is because time—or magic—itself recognised that most of these children would not survive if they were left as children for long. Or maybe it was because Auradon only fixed time _after_ the barrier was created.

Either way, the fact remains that the children of the Isle quite literally do not get childhoods, thrust into gang wars and street crime the moment they are old enough. Many of them still end up dead, but far far less than if they were left to grow the way Auradon children are. They are the children of the lost, surviving on the leftovers of a kingdom that refuses to acknowledge their existence.

Well, until it needed them that is.


	2. Lost

“Okay, so, we’ve got Tremaine and the Legumes under control for now.” Carlos reported, “They’ll probably bounce back at some point and try to reclaim power but right now they’re sticking to their reduced territory.” Mal smirked at that, Antoine Tremaine was a stuck up prick, but Toni Legume and her brothers were a pain to deal with. Gaston Legume Junior and Gaston Legume the Third may have inherited their father’s brute strength, but Toni Legume got his networking skills and ability to whip a crowd up into a frenzy with a few words. Left to her own devices, she could probably talk her way out of a civil war. Mal refused to leave the older girl to her own devices. That, she’d realised shortly after meeting Toni for the first time, was just _asking_ to get overthrown.

“Frollo’s spent so much time on the Facilier sisters she didn’t notice us sliding in until she was left with just Market Square” Evie continued. Facilier and Frollo had had some serious issues with each other, to the point where Market Square—where Frollo’s creperie was based—and Trade Street—the location of Facilier’s shop and arcade—were always at war with each other. Said feud had carried over to their daughters. Trade Street was also where Celia Facilier told fortunes, mostly keeping clear of her sister’s feud with the eldest Frollo sister. Claudine Frollo herself wasn’t much of a problem for them, but Mal didn’t want to know how much of Dr Facilier’s powers his daughters could use so it was better for everyone if they continued to fight each other.

“Gothel and Mim are in the middle of a civil war for the witches and the south side of the Isle and the forest dwellers have pulled back entirely.” Jay finished. The forest dwellers were the Inhumans and the Huns, neither of which were a massive threat to her power. The witches, on the other hand, were. If they ever stopped fighting amongst themselves and actually worked together that is. Gothel may not have had much power, but Mim did. Not enough power to challenge Maleficent, but Mal was only half-fae and Maddy Mim was full witch.

“Leaving _Shrimpy_.” Mal scowled. Uma Strand had been a pain in Mal’s side since the day they met. In another world, they may have been allies before Mal inevitably betrayed Uma, but Ursula had taken control of the waters around the Isle almost the moment they have arrived, meaning that if Maleficent wanted anything from the barges she had to waste her own forces on counteracting Ursula’s. As a result, the first time Mal met Uma, they fought. It ended with Mal falling into the waters of the docks and then dumping a bucket of rotting shrimp over the other girl’s head in revenge.

“And Hook.” Carlos stated, pointing at the second ship on their map. Harriet Hook. The other force on the docks. Unlike with Shrimpy, Mal didn’t have any personal issues with Hook. But the older girl had command of the largest gang on the Isle, if she decided she wanted to expand her territory, Mal would be hard-pressed to stop her.

“Still don’t see why they’re a big deal. They’ve got like, the equivalent of Market Square, Facilier’s and Hell Hall between them.”

“They have the outer edges of the Isle Jay. If we ever want to get off this stupid rock, we’ll have to go past them.”

“The docks are fairly peaceful too.” Evie commented “Like, there’s no infighting despite the two different crews. Wonder what the uniting factor is.”

“Why?” Jay scoffed “Want to join their little alliance?”

“No, if we figure out what caused the peace, we have a better chance at figuring out how to undo it.”

“And if there’s a war on the docks, we can swoop in when it’s over and claim what’s left.”

“Which leads us right back to the question, what’s the uniting factor? What, or rather, _who_ is keeping the peace?”

“Do we have a list of the two crews?”

“Not exactly. We don’t have a foothold in the docks, the best we can do is note down what patches people have. Shrimpy’s crew have an octopus over a crossed trident and sword on their arms. Hook’s have a three-eyed skull over a crossed sword and hook on theirs.”

“Anyone with both?”

“No.” Carlos admitted, flicking through the files they'd put together on the other Isle residents. “Not even the people that are reported to go between the two ships often have both patches. Oh.” He paused, staring down at one particular file.

“Give me that-” Mal snatched it out of his hands, staring at the grainy picture on the file. A slow smirk stretched across her face as she noted both the person in the picture and the patch they wore. “I think we found our uniting factor.”

  
  


"Mal's pushing at our borders, we need something to push her back." Harriet muttered, staring at the map of the Isle, pinned to the table by Charlotte's knives. Across from her, Jasmine and Calista were both sharpening weapons and Charlotte was tossing a fifth knife that she'd pulled out of her skirts up and down while Samuel stared at the map over her shoulder. Samuel’s siblings, Sally, Skipper and Sterling were all above deck, keeping an eye on the crew for the duration of the meeting. Harry and Uma were late.

"Hey, Harriet" said knife owner spoke up "Do you remember the day I first met CJ and Harry?"

"Vaguely, why?" Charlotte had an annoying habit of asking things like that to lead people to answers and letting them figure stuff out for themselves rather than just saying what she wanted them to know.

"Well, we'd nicked something that day. Jaz and I. And you yelled at us for it. Said we were mad, stealing from-"

"Maleficent." Harriet finished, her eyes going wide. They'd stolen something, something that didn't really get used, otherwise Maleficent would have noticed sooner. And she didn't notice until the barrier went down and she could use her magic. There was only one item Harriet could think of that fit the ill and Maleficent had been furious to find that she was missing— "the spellbook. Ye stole Maleficent's Book of Spells." Behind her, Samuel started laughing.

"What's betting Mal will want it back?" He asked.

"We have a bargaining chip." This- this could solve so many of their problems. They just had to play their cards right. The door slammed open.

"We have a problem." A very familiar, furious voice snapped from the doorway.

"Uma?" The Sea Witch was stood alone in the doorway, no Harry in sight. That was Harriet's first clue—aside from Uma's words—that something was very wrong. The two had been attached at the hip since they first met and her dumbass brother had given the Sea Witch his full name, selling his soul in the process. The second was the bundle of red leather in the Sea Witch's hands, Uma didn't wear red. Besides, Harriet recognised the patches, that was Harry's coat. The armband just confirmed it (Harriet would never admit it, but a part of her seethed whenever she saw the band, a constant reminder that her brother had chosen to follow a Sea Witch rather than his own blood. (The fact that Jasmine _also_ had the band now didn't help)). The third thing was Gil lingering in the hallway. Uma’s second mate _never_ came to the meetings, usually busy watching Uma’s crew. Uma dropped the bundle on the table, and a weapon rolled out, banging into one of Charlotte's knives. Harry's hook. Harriet saw red.

"What sort of stupid suicidal mission did ye send my brother on ye Witch?" She demanded. Uma snarled, slamming the door behind her.

"Funny. I could ask you the same thing about my first mate." She shot back.

"Shut it." Calista interrupted before it could turn into a full-blown fight. Both captains turned to stare at the only blonde Hook.

"When," Jasmine asked "was the last time anyone saw Harry?" Always the negotiator, trying to get all the sides of the story before she made a decision. Which, truth be told, was ironic considering her partner's reputation.

"Last night." Harriet admitted, "on deck."

"That's right. " Samuel agreed "We nicked him for the day, then sent him back when we were done."

"Well, I haven't seen him since you borrowed him. I assumed he'd spent the night here with you." Uma replied as she started to pace.

"That means whoever took him did it last night, and did it between here and the _Lost Revenge_." Jasmine started. Who would be stupid enough as to sneak onto the docks and kidnap her little brother? Scratch that, who actually had the resources to sneak onto the docks and steal her brother without anyone knowing?

"And she wanted us—or more accurately, _Uma_ —to know about it." Charlotte finished "Otherwise she wouldn't have bothered leaving the coat and hook somewhere Uma could find them."

"But, why _Harry_?” Calista asked “Why nae Uma or Harriet or even Gil or Sammy? Hell, why nae one of us?"

"I don't know." Charlotte sank the knife in her hand into the table, narrowly avoiding the map. "If she wanted to negotiate with a hostage it would make more sense to take a captain, if she'd wanted Uma's attention Gil would have worked just as well and the same thing goes for Harriet with Sammy or you two.” Her head shot up, eyes locking with Uma’s. “Wait, where did you find his stuff?"

"Gil found it in the front of the Chip Shoppe."

"Can we talk to Gil?" Instead of replying, Uma opened the door and called for her second mate.

"Yeah?" The blond boy asked as he entered the cabin.

"Was there anyone in the Shoppe when you found Harry's stuff?"

"Nope, the doors were swinging though. And the coat was on the floor while the hook was on the counter."

"So whoever put them there heard you coming and ran. The script was probably to plant the coat somewhere you'd find it Harriet."

"Your point Lottie?"

"The main uniting factor between Uma and Harriet is they both care about Harry. From an outsider's perspective, that's the thing that's keeping the peace out here." Harriet internally scoffed. Harry was the reason there was an alliance in the first place. With one goddamned sentence, the first time he met Uma, Harriet's little brother had almost singlehandedly set the ceasefire of the docks in motion. He'd been incredibly proud of himself. Harriet had wanted to throttle him, _she_ was the one who'd had to sort out his goddamned mess while the bampot ran off after his new captain. "Uma last saw him after Sammy pulled him out the shop on Harriet's orders. Harriet last saw him after sending him back to Uma. Whoever took him wants to pit the _Forgotten Treasure_ and the _Lost Revenge_ against each other. She wants war to break out on the docks." Charlotte explained, "So, who would benefit from that?" Harriet's mind was racing. Someone had stolen her brother in order to pit her against Uma. It had to be someone who'd benefit from the war, meaning it was a leader. Toni Legume wasn't one to resort to kidnapping when she wanted something, she'd straight up demanded what she wanted from Harriet or Uma, especially since Uma had Gil. Antoine Tremaine turned his nose up at the idea of interacting with pirates, Claudine Frollo was too busy with the Facilier sisters to pay attention to the docks and Ginny Gothel was in the middle of a civil war with Maddy Mim. Seff Scarson and Shan Jun kept to themselves and Diego De Vil didn't have the power, especially since his group had been taken over by—

"Mal," Uma said, reaching the same conclusion Harriet had. Mal Sheach. "Mal took him."

"Why though? Why _now_? Why not three months ago when the barrier first fell?"

"Probably dinnae think we'd be a problem then." Calista pointed out "There's very little territory between us. All we've got is the outer edges o' the Isle." Jasmine smirked, her eyes lighting up in realisation.

"But we have the outer edges o' the Isle." She finished.

"Yeah, we know. That's the reason we've hung on so long. Nothing gets off this rock without us knowing about it."

"Exactly. And, I bet Mal hates that."

"She'll be after surrender if we confront her. Total and unconditional. Her script was probably to let you two tear each other apart and then swan in and take over what's left."

"That isn't an option." Uma snapped.

"Then we need to make an offer she can't refuse" Harriet stated "Simple as that. Charlotte, do ye and Jasmine still have the book." It wasn’t a question. Harriet knew her sister and said sister's partner. Neither of them were the sort of person to get rid of, lose or otherwise misplace something like that.

“Yep.” Jasmine confirmed and Charlotte started rummaging in a bag Jasmine had dropped on the floor.

"Wait, what book?" Uma interrupted.

“This one” Charlotte stated, dropping a battered brown book onto the table, on top of the map.

"Charlotte and Jasmine stole it a few years back." Harriet explained as Uma snatched it up, studying it. "I was hoping to use it for something else, but it's the best shot we've got of getting Harry back without giving anything up."

  
  


“Did you do it?” Mal demanded as Jay walked into the room.

“Planted the hook, but Uma’s second boy-toy came out so I dropped the coat and ran. Figured it was better for him to find that than me.”

“Great. C, you can run down later with a message for surrender in return for Hook. Speaking of, we got anything out of him yet?” Carlos shook his head.

“He’s as mad as ‘Lota is.” The De Vil reported, fingers twitching at the mention of his twin sister, just like they always did “Asshole just laughs whenever we do anything to him.”

  
  


"Incoming!" The lookout—a boy called Conner O'Connor—called from the crows nest.

"Who is it?" Harriet asked as Lottie ambled over to the side of the ship, searching for any familiar black and white hair amongst the wharf-rats. The De Vil’s were Mal’s go-to option for sending messages, and she could recognise them better than most.

"Carlos De Vil." She spotted him the moment Conner said his name, a face she used to see every day, short, curly white hair with black roots, a boy dressed in red, black and white, fur edging his clothes.

"I've got a message for Captain Hook and Captain Strand." The boy reported, pausing on the gangplank. She could see his face twist slightly the moment he spotted her and wondered—briefly—if he saw her as she was now, or if he was seeing a slightly younger version that wore a lot more white and was a little less sane, desperate for any sort of positive attention and terrified she’d end up exactly like her mother.

"Let's hear it then," Harriet stated.

"Uh, it's for both you and Uma-"

"I'll make sure she gets it 'Los." Lottie interrupted, unable to stop herself from using the same name for him she always had, a distant part of her hoping he would respond with the name he’d always used for her, the rest of her praying that he wouldn’t.

"Alright. Mal says that she will meet you outside the Curl Up and Dye tomorrow at noon to negotiate the terms of your surrender for the return of one Harry Hook."

"She wants us to venture out of our territory, does she?" Harriet stalked down the gangplank until she reached him. "You can tell her that we'll be there to _negotiate_ and that Harry had better be in one piece. If he isnae, there'll be hell to pay." Carlos nodded, turning to go.

"Wait, 'Los?" He paused, twisting to look at her and she just _knew_ he was seeing the person she used to be. "When you see the others tell them..." the night she left flashed in her mind, the yelling and arguing, the blood and the screams and the certainty that the words on her back were the truth. People grabbing her, trying to stop her from leaving and her jumping out the window because yeah, the lions might get her but staying would mean something far, _far_ worse. "tell them I miss them, and I'm sorry, but I can't regret it. Me leaving that night may have hurt them, but staying would have destroyed me."

"You never were one for regrets." Was all he said before running off. He was right, she wasn’t, but that didn’t mean the things that happened didn’t haunt her nightmares, that she hadn’t buried the name she’d once adored so deep inside herself that just hearing it made her freeze.

  
  


Mal mused over Carlos’ words as she strode down into the basement.

“Confidant Shrimpy will come for you, are we?” She asked, coming to a stop in front of the only currently occupied cell.

“Deh call her that.” Harry Hook growled.

“Wow. You really _are_ her bitch. And here I thought you were a threat.” The boy lunged forward, snapping his teeth at her like a dog when the chains held him back. She smirked, “Actually, that gives me an idea.”

  
  


"We ken when and where we're meeting Mal tomorrow to negotiate.” Harriet said, looking around the room “Question is, who's going?" Uma had brought Gil with her to the meeting, most likely leaving Jonas Anker in charge.

"I'm going" Uma stated, her tone leaving no room for argument. "He's my first mate."

"I'm going too." Gil was quick to second his captain.

"No." Uma instantly shot him down "You stay here. We need someone to lead the crew if the worst happens."

"I'll go.” Harriet offered, “He's my brother."

"That'd look good, sending both captains,” Samuel agreed “show that Mal that she was wrong to target Harry, let her assume that her attempts to drive us into war brought us closer to a united front."

"Don't forget me" Charlotte spoke for the first time since Carlos had delivered his message. Her hair was out of its braid for once, making it easier to see the white streaks in amongst the black.

"Lottie?" Jasmine asked, sounding concerned. She probably didn’t want to send Charlotte back to the place she ran away from.

"I know the area." Charlotte pointed out "I know the short cuts and the places Mal's most likely to have put guards and lookouts."

“Lottie, if this is to prove that you’re not useless-”

“It’s not Jaz. You don’t want me going back, I get that, but I need to do this.” Charlotte explained. “I need to prove that this-” She yanked on a white strand of her hair, waving it in front of Jasmine ”-doesn’t define me. That it isn’t going to stop me from doing what _I_ want to do. I can’t do that unless I go back.”

“Your personal reasons better not get in the way of saving my brother.” Was all Jasmine said in response.

“Saving your brother would prove my point quite nicely, actually.”


	3. Hook

Here’s the thing about Neverland, there is no hero, and there is no villain. Captain Hook was a pirate who hunted Lost Boys, but Peter Pan was a demon pretending to be a child.

Auradon always was good at taking things at face value.

When Peter begged for help—when Hook got too close to winning for comfort—Auradon saw a child pleading to be saved from a pirate.

_Ohh, a pirate's life is a wonderful life  
Arovin' over the sea  
Give me a career as a buccaneer  
It's the life of a pirate for me  
Ohh, the life of a pirate for me_

Officially, legally, William Smee had four children (Sammy, Sally, Skipper and Sterling).

If you were to ask anyone at the docks however, they would tell you he had eight (Sammy, Harriet, Harry, Sally, Jaz, CJ, Skipper and Sterling).

Four were technically his captain's children (Harriet, Harry, Jaz and CJ) but Mr Smee was the one who raised them.

_Ohh, A pirate's life is a wonderful life_

The first child to be born on the docks was Samuel Smee, more commonly known as Sammy.

The second was Harriet. Harriet had been an accident. And a girl at that. Captain Hook—the first Captain Hook—had wanted a son, a Harry, and ended up with a daughter, a not-quite-Harry, instead.

(In another world, this fact would make Harriet bitter, turn her against her little—only—brother)

So William Smee ended up raising the girl alongside his own son. Harriet was the only person to ever actually call Sammy Samuel, and Sammy was the only person that actually got away with calling her anything other than Harriet (Even Harry, Jaz and CJ got snapped at for calling her Hattie.)

_Without a care to behold_

So Hook had tried again and got the Harry he was after. Only for the boy to end up looking like Pan, the spitting image of his hated enemy.

(In another world, Harry would resent all three of his sisters for this, the reason he was always the target of their father’s drunk rampages)

(Harriet had watched their father rage at Harry a grand total of once before dragging the boy to Smee's house on the docks.)

After Harry was born though, the other pirates and dock workers started having children (Even Morgana and Ursula's children were younger than Harry). Amongst the children born after Harry was his only blood daughter, Sally Smee.

_You dig for pleasure to find some treasure_

Scared that his son looked so much like Pan and angry that his daughter was too much like him, Hook tried one last time and ended up with twin girls. Calista Jane and Jasmine Clover. CJ and Jaz. CJ, the only one that didn’t look like him and Jaz, who was the least pirate-like of the lot.

(In another world, the twins would come to hate each other, for a multitude of reasons but it all boils down to two facts; CJ was the favourite and Jaz got away)

His twin sons, Skipper and Sterling, came a few years after the twins (Around the time Harry did what Harriet would always call the dumbest thing he'd ever done) and William Smee's child count went up to eight (nine if you wanted to count Uma, Harry often dragging Ursula's daughter back when the girl's mother was in a bad mood).

_Your pockets are loaded with gold_

By the end of it all, he had four children that were his by blood (Sammy, Sally, Skipper and Sterling), four that he'd basically raised (Harriet, Harry, Jaz and CJ) and three that the Hook siblings (Harry and Jaz) had dragged back (Uma Stand, Gil Legume, and Charlotte De Vil).

(In another world they'd be tearing each other apart. In this one, they had a little more sense)

_Ohh, your pockets are loaded with gold_

The first Captain Hook had passed down four hooks, pressing them into the hands of his children as he told them to prove themselves to him.

Only one did.

Harriet challenged his authority at every turn, stepping in between him and Harry, demanding her own ship and fighting him for it. Unwilling, maybe even unable, to stand down until she reached her goal.

(His eldest daughter was far more like him than either of them would ever care to admit)

Harry ran off and sold his soul the moment he was left alone unattended. To a Sea Witch no less.

(His son looked too much like Peter Pan for Hook to ever been comfortable looking the boy in the eye.)

Jaz was no pirate at all, preferring words to swords and dry land to ships.

(The only thing his middle daughter got from him was her hair and her dramatic tendencies.)

CJ though, CJ proved herself.

(His youngest daughter was the spitting image of her mother in pretty much every way. It was no wonder really that he liked her best)

_Ohh, A pirate's life is a wonderful life_

Harriet Hook was a lot of things, but first and foremost, she was a captain. She was also a big sister. The two jobs stopped correlating far sooner than she would have liked. (Harry sold his soul, Jasmine ran away, Calista had never really needed her protection) In the end, she moved on—only coming to their aid when they asked for it. Her siblings were grown, with allies of their own. She had a crew to protect and lead. They could look after themselves.

_You'll find adventure and sport_

Harry Hook was a first mate. Second in command. Right had to Captain Uma Strand. Pretending he couldn’t count so people would underestimate him and playing up the madness so people would fear him. (Uma and Gil always knew what was real, even if Harry didn’t)  
 _But live every minute for all that is in it_

Jaz Hook was a negotiator, fighting with words rather than the swords her siblings preferred. She found a runaway genius and sold her soul in return for one given inadvertently. (Jaz Hook and Charlie Devil, you never saw one without the other)  
 _The life of a pirate is short_

CJ Hook had three older siblings. A captain, a first mate and a negotiator. They had renown and recognition. She had their father’s love. (She’d rather have the reputation)  
 _Ohh, the life of a pirate is short_

Harriet had no idea how old she was when Harry went missing for a few days. She knows CJ and Jaz were around, but Skipper and Sterling weren't. Every able-bodied member of the crew was sent out to find him, but Harriet was the one to find him and, when she did, promptly wanted to lose him again.

"He sold his soul to me" The little Sea Witch—Uma—informed her. "Would you like to make a deal to get him back?" One look at the girl's smug grin and Harry's sheepish look made Harriet want to throttle them both. Later the bampot would claim he hadn't known what he was doing but she knew full well he had. He'd wanted a protection from their father that Harriet and Mr Smee just couldn't give, even if she'd fought Hook for a ship and won. She couldn't blame him for that. But selling his soul? That she could blame him for.

Harry, she'd decided that day, was far, _far_ more trouble than he's worth.

(All of he siblings were really)

_Ohh, a pirate's life is a wonderful life  
_ 'But not forever,' _they say  
When your neck's in a noose and you can't get loose  
For the life of a pirate you'll pay  
Ohh, for the life of a pirate you'll pay_

The four Hook siblings are vastly different when it comes to their personalities and ways of dealing with things.

There _are_ three things all four of the Hook siblings have in common though,

1\. When they get mad their eyes turn red.

2\. They’re all dramatic little shits.

3\. At the end of the day, when one calls for help the other three will answer.


	4. Broken

"Mal!" The daughter of Maleficent smiled as her visitors approached. Three of them. Shrimpy, Harriet Hook and, strangely enough, Charlie Devil. She hadn't been expecting Carlos' sister, even if he had reported that she'd been there when he delivered the message.

"You have something that belongs to us." Harriet Hook stated, "We want him back."

"I'm sure you already know my terms" Mal replied serenely. "Complete and total surrender to me and me alone. You do that and you can have him back. You don't and... well, your brother has an awful lot of enemies amongst my people, I wonder how long he'd last against them." They'd accept, of course they would. To deny would be signing Harry's death warrant, and both captains cared about the boy too much for that to happen. Admittedly, she'd been hoping for them to fight each other, for their most loyal to wipe each other out, but this worked too.

"As much fun as that would be" Charlie Devil took a step forwards "We have a better offer."

"I highly doubt that." She had no interest in anything the half-mad girl could offer. She'd been surprised to hear that Shrimpy had taken the girl in after Mal had decided she didn't want broken things.

"Then I guess you _don't_ want this back?" She held up an old, brown book. An old, brown book with a golden dragon on the front. Her mother's spellbook!

"Where did you get that?" She demanded.

"Oh? This little thing?" Charlie Devil smirked. "I nicked it. Several years ago in fact."

"Give me the book." Her tone left no room for argument as she held out her hand. Charlie Devil argued anyway.

"Give me Harry!"

  
  


Harriet watched with bated breath as the girl that had tumbled into her life all those years ago bargained for her little brother. She'd promised to Maw to always protect all three of her younger siblings. She'd done her best, it wasn't perfect but she'd tried. All of them had scars, but this was by far the most dangerous situation they'd ended up in. Mal could have Harry killed at any moment and, if that happened, Harriet—and Uma—would have no choice but to declare war. As much as she cared about her little brother, she didn't want to get her crew killed.

"Bring him out" A door behind Mal opened and Harry stumbled forwards, presumably someone had shoved him. There were ropes around his wrists and ankles, his pants were torn and his shirt was missing entirely, but the thing that made Harriet pause was the blood on his chest. He was hurt. Jay and Carlos both grabbed an arm, pulling Harry forwards as Charlotte moved to meet them. It was killing Harriet to stand back, but she had to trust that Charlotte knew what she was doing. Presenting a divided front now would do nobody any favours. "The book for the boy. Deal?"

"Deal." Charlotte stated, passing the book to Carlos before pulling put a knife and cutting through the ropes binding Harry. Uma pulled him in the moment the pair got close enough, cursing at the blood.

"One last thing" Mal called as they turned to leave. "De Vil. You know your mother's agreement with mine. You should be working for me."

"Oh yeah. I remember that agreement." Charlotte agreed. "Mother had a massive fight with Uncle Cecil about it, the night I left actually, but you already said you didn't want me. How did you phrase it? Oh yeah. That's right. I'm half-mad and anyone who actually wants me on their side is as insane as I am I could go die in the gutter for all you cared." Out of the corner of her eye, Harriet noticed Uma pulling back with Harry, she should probably follow them, but she wasn't about to leave Charlotte behind. Jasmine would kill her.

"Well, I changed my mind."

"Oh no. You can't do that Fae Girl. Besides, even if you could, it's irrelevant. I already sold my soul" Oh, _that_ was a new piece of information. It explained some things though.

"Then I guess you won't be leaving here alive."

"Yanno, this was my turf too, once." Charlotte commented mildly as Mal's followers moved to surround them. "And, I'm not stupid. I suspected that this was coming, and I came prepared." Charlotte pulled something out of her skirt and there was smoke everywhere—who the fuck thought it was a good idea to give her a smoke bomb—and a hand grabbed hers, pulling her out of the smoke. Charlotte laughed as they rounded the corner, Mal's goons crashing into each other behind them. Ahead of them, she could see Uma's teal braids vanish into the mess of streets. She must have met up with the members of her crew that followed them. Harry would be fine.

"Nice try 'Lota." Carlos De Vil called as he dropped from a rooftop to stand in front of them, Jafar's son just behind him.

"'Los! Jay." Charlotte greeted "I'd love to stay and chat, but we've got places to be."

"Would working with me again really be that bad?" Carlos asked.

"It isn't you have a problem with 'Los." Charlotte replied "it's Mal and the fact that she only wants me when she thinks I'm an asset. Besides, I'm a pirate now." Harriet smirked, proud of the girl her sister had saved.

"You're my sister." Carlos tried, but Harriet couldn't see it. Comparing the way Charlotte faced Carlos to the way she was around her own crew and Uma’s—Story Time came to mind—it was clear who the younger girl was more relaxed around and it wasn't Carlos.

"Am I?" Charlotte asked. "Am I really? 'Los, this is the longest conversation we've had in years—the first where we haven't had to hide it—and I'm running from your leader. Can you really call me your sister?"

"You left. That's what started this split."

"I did. But you stayed. I offered a hand, I offered to take you with me, and you said no." She scoffed. "That's on _you_ 'Los. Not me."

"'Lota, just surrender. I don't want to fight you."

"Don't kid yourself 'Los. We knew this day was coming the moment I jumped out the window and you stayed in the house." She laughed slightly, Charlie Devil peeking through with Jasmine there to hold the demon back. "You don't want to fight? Well, that's a shame. Cuz I _do_."

"'Lota-"

"Harriet, you can see the docks from the rooftops. Due west." She said, offering Harriet a way out. "Uma and the others should be nearly there by now."

"Jasmine will be furious if I come back without ye." Harriet pointed out, because coming back without Charlotte wasn't an option. They might have rescued Harry today, but if she came back without Charlotte she'd lose Jasmine and she refused to trade one sibling for another. She'd made a promise to get all three of her younger siblings out of the Isle alive, she wasn't about to break it now.

"If something happens, and we don't make it back, we don't have any more bargaining chips." Charlotte stated, calm and collected as she was before a spar. "I know a hundred different ways to the docks, several of which you're too big to use. So go, I'll catch up."

  
  


"'Lota." She didn't give him a chance to talk, knife swinging at his head. Jay had run off after Harriet Hook, trusting that Carlos would be able to handle his sister on his own. He couldn't. He'd thought he could, but 'Lota had clearly improved since the last time they fought. 'Lota had always been the fighter out of the two of them, the one to show she was angry, to start punching and kicking. Even if he was to count all of the people that lived in Hell Hall, 'Lota would still be the one he'd label the fighter. After all, Carlos liked to try and talk things out. Diego talked things out, even Ivy with her almost bipolar personality talked things out. 'Lota, on the other hand just _bit_. She braided barbed wire into her hair, tucked knives into her skirts and soldered sharp bits of metal to the edges of her shoes. Her gloves probably had brass knuckles in them and her jackets had old razors and serrated bits sticking out. A punch splintered the wood where his head had been. Yep. Brass knuckles. Her skirt flared out as she moved, scraps of leather and metal swirling around her legs. "'Lota! Just- tell me. Where did we go wrong?"

  
  


That's the thing though, Lottie knew exactly where and when they started drifting. Could pinpoint the exact minute they started to turn away from each other. The funny part about it all though is it shouldn't have happened at all. Strange how life works like that.

When she was a child—she's still a child technically, but then she was a bit smaller and a lot more innocent—back before they'd met anyone who didn't carry the name De Vil or Badun, back when she'd still thought of herself as 'Lota—she and 'Los had accidentally set off a bear trap in their mother's fur coat closet. 'Los had screamed as the trap snapped shut around his leg, he never went in again if he could help it, always asking 'Lota or one of the others to get the coats out when Cruella had asked for them. 'Lota, on the other hand, had gone back in the next day and poked the traps with a stick, watching the metal jaws snap shut over and over, resetting them and triggering them over and over, trying to figure out how they worked, until Uncle Cecil had yelled at her to knock it off before she pissed off Cruella.

The day after that, for reasons she couldn't quite remember—Cruella had shoved her down the stairs after finding out that they'd got blood on one of the fur coats in their panicked attempts to stop 'Los from bleeding out—she'd smashed a bottle and watched as Jace bled when she stabbed his arm with the broken end. It had taken weeks for the others to talk to her again, _months_ before Jace would even so much as look at her. Jasper had called her psychotic for the act, 'Los had asked why she'd do such a thing and Diego had just sighed, hiding all the glass bottles. 'Lota shrugged at all the questions, _she_ hadn't been entirely sure why she'd done it. Her head hadn't been right that day—the first of what they'd come to call Carlota days—she knew that much, but she had no idea why she'd thought it was a good idea to break the bottle and stab Jace. Maybe it was the result of Cruella shoving her down the stairs into multiple glass bottles, the injuries planting the idea of stabbing someone with one in her head and Jace was just the closet person.

Horace and Jasper had got her back for it though, or tried to at any rate. They'd pinned her down, there was a knife—'Lota didn't like thinking about what happened next. Lottie liked it even less. She'd run away from that encounter with words carved into her back, a bloody knife clutched in her fist and even more damage to her already fragile sanity. Jasper had walked away blind in one eye, Horace was missing a hand and had a scar from where she'd bit him on the other. She kept the knife and called it a fair trade.

Lottie snarled, swiping the knife at 'Los' legs. She'd never liked Horace and Jasper. They'd hated her. Yet another reason to jump out the window.

"'Lota-" Carlos said that buried name again, a name she both loathed and adored, and her shoulders _burned_. Injuries long healed over, but constant reminders of what the world thought of her itching. _Worthless. Useless. Psycho._

"I'm not 'Lota Carlos." She forced herself to spit his full name, speak with emotions she didn't really feel. She couldn't afford to be soft to him. Not anymore. "I haven't been 'Lota in years." He froze, his eyes wide when she said his full name. Understandable. She'd never said it before—the De Vil/Badun clan kids had always called him 'Los, just like they'd called her 'Lota—just like she'd never told him the full list of reasons she jumped out the window. But, she'd never told anyone that. Not even Jaz.

"You'll always be 'Lota to us." She froze, twisting to see her cousins behind her.

"Diego." She greeted, smiling slightly. "Ivy, Hector" She'd missed him, missed all three of them. Diego had always been the one the look after the rest of them, stop them from going too far, Ivy had been the only other girl in that place and Hector had been a ray of sanity and kindness when the rest of them started losing their minds. Cruella's madness had hurt all of them, it had just been the most noticeable in her.

"I can't stop you, can I?" She shook her head. "Always running off and leaving the rest of us behind, huh 'Lota. You're safe with the pirates, right? And happy?"

"As happy as you can get in this hell hole."

"You run now, you can no longer call yourself a De Vil. You know that, don’t you?"

"Nobody ever really called me that to begin with D." She replied "I was always Devil, not De Vil."

"A name you earned, Charlie Devil."

"Hey Jace, Harry." The Badun cousins helped Carlos to his feet, all of them watching her. Carlos moved towards her and Jace stopped him.

"Let her go," Diego stated. Lottie slipped her knife back into its holder at her hip, wanting to trust that they wouldn't do anything. "Carlota De Vil died a long time ago. It's high time we stopped chasing ghosts and let her rest."

"Who are you now then?" Ivy asked. Lottie paused under the arch, looking up at her.

"Charlotte. Lottie. Beyond that, I don't know. I'll figure it out as I go."

"'Lota-"

"Look after yourself, 'Los. All of you, look after each other." She stated, turning her back on the family she'd been born into. As she walked, a weight fell from her shoulders and she had to resist the urge to glance back, her mind conjuring a picture of her younger self lying dead on the ground. It was, after all, the end of Carlota De Vil. The end of Charlie Devil too, in a way. The end of the running and the hiding and pretending to be something she wasn't.

Time, then, to catch up with the others.


	5. De Vil

_Cruella De Vil, Cruella De Vil,_

_If she doesn't scare you no evil thing will_

As a whole, the De Vil clan hadn’t done anything wrong. It was all Ella and her henchmen, and Ella had only thought it was a good idea because someone had convinced her to go off her meds. But the new High King Adam wasn’t about to listen to excuses—the man had banished an entire village after all—so it was off to the Isle they went, Ella and Horace and Jasper, Cecil and Patrick too.

(The Devil was once an angel after all)

Cecil hadn’t meant to have a son. hadn’t even realised he had one until the boy knocked on the door, mere weeks old but already looking like a teenager. He’d tried to deny it, there was no way he had a son and even if he did, no way the boy could be that old, but Diego had the De Vil hair, and time was strange on the Isle, children did not stay children for long. He’d seen Anastasia’s boy got from a babe to an adult in a few months, watched Gaston’s twin sons lumber past the house most mornings seen as two turned into three with the addition of his daughter, heard the news of Smee’s son and Hook’s daughter. He’d gone to Frollo’s and been startled to find a young woman that looked so much like him behind the counter instead of the man himself. He’d actually spoken to Gothel’s daughter, the girl looking for books on magic. And now, his son was stood in front of him. Amongst the first of those born on the Isle.

Less than a year after Diego, Patrick’s son, Hector came along.

A few years after Hector came Harold—Harry—Badun, Jason—Jace—Badun a few months behind him. Horace and Jasper’s sons.

He wasn’t surprised when he found Ella throwing up in the bathroom, a few days after a one night stand in exchange for some fur coats.

She had only got worse over the years, cut off from any medicine that might help, cut off from her friends and anyone outside of Hell Hall that would be willing to help.

Carlos Oscar De Vil and Carlota Anita De Vil were born in the middle of the night. Carlos was bigger, but Carlota was the louder of the two. Some things, he would realise dryly, years down the line, never change.

They shot up, constantly growing, he’d take his eyes off them for five minutes and they’d be a whole inch taller. Carlota talked first, walked first, ran first, shoving everything she could get her hands on in her mouth. Carlos was more careful, he learned to talk second, but he spoke more, walked where Carlota ran, content to take his time. He saw Ella in both of them, her intelligence in Carlos’ eyes, her ambition and determination in the stubborn set of Carlota’s jaw. He saw Ella in the way Carlos spent hours and hours curled up with a book, designs spread out on the floor around him but he also saw her in the way Carlota ran full tilt through the halls, poking and prodding at everything, _demanding_ to know how and why things worked.

They were good for Ella, those first few years, she was better when she pulled her children in close, told them bedtime stories, helped Carlos with his machines and panicked when Carlota somehow got it into her head that it was a good idea to try and climb up the outside of the building.

That, he’d later realise, what their first clue that Carlota had inherited more than just her mother’s intelligence.

(Making deals with the Devil never ends well)

The good days couldn’t last. His daughter, Ivy, came along—he’d only had her because he thought the twins were helping, thought Ella was getting better, he was wrong—and two years later everything went downhill.

The twins would have been four, if they grew like normal children, when they first experienced one of Ella’s bad days.

Carlota had been unnervingly quiet for a week after that. Carlos had refused to come out of his room at all.

Things were never quite the same after that.

When she finally did talk again, Carlota had told him her name didn’t fit. That it was her, but not quite. He’d agreed that ‘Lota sounded nicer for now and that she should have a look for different names in a book. Soon enough everyone aside from Ella was also using ‘Lota, and somewhere along the way, Carlos morphed into ‘Los to match.

They were five when everything changed for good. Ella had hit one of her bad days, the worst she’d had in a long, long time, and thrown the twins in the closet with the bear traps. He’d been away for the weekend, had only got the story when he returned but one look at his cousin’s face and he knew it wasn’t the full one.

Ella had lost it, apparently, shoved the twins in the closet and one had set off, hurting ‘Los. In a panicked attempt to stop him bleeding out, ‘Lota ended up getting blood on one of Ella’s furs. Ella’s retaliation had been to shove the girl down the stairs. Something in ‘Lota had been broken or damaged in the fall and she’d stabbed Jace with a broken bottle, unable to explain why other than “The voices said it was a good idea” He didn’t know what Horace and Jasper had done in return, but Jasper was down an eye, Horace was missing a hand and there were teeth marks in the other one. ‘Lota had a knife.

(He never should have left)

He’d found his niece curled up underneath the bathroom sink, her hands clapped over her ears as she cried.

-

“I think I’m going mad” Ella had said at fourteen, curled up at the bottom of her wardrobe. “there’s voices in my head. There shouldn’t be voices in my head, should there?”

-

“I don’t wanna be like Mum” ‘Lota had screamed, tears pouring down her face. “I don’t wanna be mad. But there’s voices and I can’t make them go away.”

(The name said it all, De Vil. Devil. D Evil. Everyone knows the villains never get a happy ending)

When they were six, they’d swapped passions, almost. ‘Lota was the one commonly found curled up with a book and ‘Los was the one running around madly, building a tree house in the back garden with Diego and Hector. Later, when the tree house was finished, he could almost always find them there—these children who, in another world would have been the heirs to one of the biggest fashion empire’s the world had ever seen—curled up together reading a book or two, a stack of unread ones in between them and read ones scattered around them.

“Charlotte” She’d whispered, one night while Ella was asleep. “My name. I want to to be Charlotte.” She’d paused, scrunching her nose up just like Ella did when she realised something she didn’t like. “But… I don’t want to stop being ‘Lota.”

A few weeks after that night, the name Charlie Devil reached his ears. A name attached the rumours of a girl who set off bear traps at school and left grenades in the corridor to see what happened.

He’s _seen_ as Charlie Devil—not ‘Lota, never ‘Lota—shoved a lawnmower down a street towards Ella with no way to stop it.

In hindsight, he should have seen her ~~escape~~ departure coming.

(There has always been a difference between Devil and De Vil)

When the twins were seven, Ella sold their souls. Or, tried to at any rate.

Ella sold the soul of ever child under the roof of Hell Hall to Maleficent and her spawn. From Diego to Ivy to ‘Los to Jace.

(Maleficent had promised furs, he later found out, furs and sanity. She’d delivered on neither)

They’d fought that night, after Maleficent’s spawn called ‘Lota worthless, Ivy pathetic and ‘Los nothing but a brain.

(She’d said every single child of Hell Hall was broken in one way or another)

Mal—the little brat wasn’t even unique enough to get her own name, too busy trying to copy her mother—had named them all, made them swear themselves to her. Not all of them had done so willingly.

(Ivy’s scream of pain as Mal commanded her to swear herself to the half-fae still rang in his ears on the bad days.)

(Most days were bad days now)

‘Lota, with a name that didn’t quite fit and a refusal to believe in magic—least of all fae—had tried to bolt and, upon finding the doors blocked by Maleficent’s goons, straight up jumped out the window.

She never came back.

(The devil is in the detail. To own someone’s soul, you have to have a full name that they accept as theirs. ‘Lota had been given a name that didn’t quite fit.)

Carlos was folded into Mini-Maleficent’s inner circle with Grimhile’s girl and Jafar’s boy.

Diego was put in charge of the new recruits, shadowed faces filtering through the doors of Hell Hall and back out again as Maleficent expanded her daughter’s army of children y conquering their parents.

Jace and Harry faded into the background as Ivy started to run more and Hector buried himself in books.

When the barrier fell, Cecil followed Ella—Patrick right behind him—away from Hell Hall. Ella would need her family in this new world, to stop her from going any more insane than she already was.

Once upon a time, there had been seven children in Hell Hall. Now there were none. They could look after themselves.

(Hell is empty and all the Devils are here)

_The world was such a wholesome place until,_

_Cruella, Cruella De Vil._


	6. Reckless

“We need a solution, a plan, anything!” Audrey threw her hands in the air as she paced around the room. Ben wasn’t even looking at her, too busy staring out the window. “Maleficent is pushing at our borders from the moors, Ursula and Hook are coming at us from the sea, the Hun army is quite literally cutting through our ranks like butter. We _need_ a way to win this Ben.” Her best friend finally turned away from the window, meeting her eyes.

“Maybe we’re looking at this the wrong way Audrey.” He stated softly

“Ben- how could we be doing this wrong? We’re doing what our parents did-”

“Our parents didn’t have to deal with them all at once,” Ben replied. “We do. We can’t rely on their methods, they clearly aren’t working.”

“Well, what do you suggest we do then?” He said nothing, turning back to stare out the window. Rolling her eyes, Audrey joined him. There was nothing out there worth seeing, the beaches long since abandoned. Nothing except the Isle.

“The villains had kids you know,” Ben told her. “If anyone knows how to survive in a world run by villains, it’s them.”

“Are you suggesting we ask the children of _villains_ for help?” Audrey asked incredulously.

“If you have a better idea, I’m all ears,” Ben replied. He was serious then.

“I don’t. But we have no idea whether or not they’ll actually agree to help us, or if there’s even anyone left. For all we know they all sided with their parents. And- even if they _did_ stay and agreed to help us, are you really going to put the future of the kingdom in the hands of _villains_?”

“I’ve read over Yen Sid’s reports on the Isle and the kids there,” he said, gesturing to the pile of files on the table next to him “I know who the leaders are-”

“Ben, that was years ago. Yen Sid hasn’t sent a report since the Barrier...” She trailed off. Yen Sid hadn’t sent a report since the Barrier had broken and been replaced—by the villains. They had no way of knowing if the man was even still alive, if _anyone_ on the Isle was still alive.

Audrey had wanted to start sending better things in the barges the moment she found out they only sent garbage. But the war was taxing and her own people came first. The contents of the barges had been getting worse and worse as the war drew on and Auradon had less and less resources.

“Still, I’ll take a boat and a guard with me, just to check it out. I’ll come straight back the moment I know whether or not there’s life there. I know you don’t want to trust them, but the Isle children may be our only chance of survival.”

“Alright then,” She sighed, taking a seat next to him and holding a hand out for the files. “Your first stop on the Isle will be the docks, who’s in charge there?” Ben visibly brightened, handing her two of the files.

“There’s two leaders on the docks, Uma Strand, daughter of Ursula, and Harriet Hook, daughter of Captain Hook” Audrey smiled to herself as she listened to him ramble on about the two pirate women and their crews. Ben always did like to see the good in people.

  
  


“I thought we were going to trade Hook for total surrender?” Jay asked as the group reconvened in Mal’s office.

“The book was a better deal.” Mal replied, flicking through said book as fast as she could. “This is my mother’s spellbook. With this we don’t need to worry about anything the witches can throw at us, we’re far more powerful than they could ever be.”

“Forget the witches” Evie said “I’m far more worried about what Shrimpy will do when she finds out what you did to her boy-toy.” Mal smirked slightly at the reminder.

“Whatever happens, it won’t be pretty” Carlos stated, “We need to prepare for war.”

  
  


"Those fucking assholes!" Uma raged, pacing up and down the cabin furiously. Harry had been unconscious by the time they reached the _Lost Revenge_. It had taken half the crew to stop Gil from storming back into Mal's territory and ripping her to shreds. Uma had considered taking him to the _Forgot_ _t_ _en Treasure_ , Harriet had cabins set aside for all of her siblings should they need them, but had come to the conclusion that Harry was far less likely to panic if he woke up in the far more familiar captain's cabin on the _Lost Revenge_. So that's where they were. They'd finally got Harry's chest cleaned, and then the crew had had to stop _Uma_ from going to kill Mal. There were words carved into his chest, Mal had probably put them there herself. _**UMA'S** **BITCH.**_

"How is he?" Harriet was in the doorway. Uma turned to face her. "And there better be a good reason my sisters are out here rather than in there with him."

"Because both Uma and _Gil's_ first reaction to seeing him was to go and tear Sheach to pieces. There's only so many times the crew can stop someone before they demand to know why people are heading off to kill Sheach and join them.." Bonny replied, placing a damp cloth on Harry's forehead. Harriet paled slightly, which was fair. It was rare that something got _Gil_ angry. Gil was the calm one out of the three of them, it was Uma that got angry, Harry that went out to kill people, Gil was the one who pointed out why that was a bad idea (her sunshine boy was simple, not stupid).

"What happened?" She demanded

"He's unconscious with a fever. But that isn't what got everyone mad." Well, the blood had been enough to get Gil mad. They hadn't let him see the words, knowing full well they probably wouldn't be able to stop him. Uma could tell the moment Harriet spotted the words though. The older girl went very still, her face twisting up in anger.

"Who did this?" Harriet snarled, probably fully ready to go tear Mal to pieces.

"You know just as much as we do Captain." Bonny replied.

"Wait. Where's Lottie?" She'd noticed the smaller girl's absence the moment Harriet had appeared, but Harriet hadn't needed the distraction then.

"Stopped to fight Carlos. Can't say I dinnae see it coming." Harriet replied, calming down slightly at the distraction "If anything, it's long overdue." And Uma had to agree with that. Lottie had been avoiding anything to do with the De Vil/Badun clan since she joined them. Clearing the air would be good for her.

"Send her in when she gets back then. If anyone knows how to deal with this, it'll be her." Uma stated, remembering injuries the other girl tried to herd to hide. Harriet froze.

"What makes ye say that?"

"She tries to hide it, but someone did the exact same thing to her at some point. I don't know who did it, and I don't know what they say, but there's words on her back."

"And here I thought I'd been doing good hiding those." Speak of the devil and she shall appear. She had by far the calmest reaction to the words, simply stiffening up, a haunted look flashing into her eyes before she relaxed. "I can't do anything about the words, but I can make the scars less noticeable."

"Do it." Harriet stated. Lottie nodded, rattling off a list of ingredients.

  
  


“We need to call a truce.” Claudine stated, staring down Freddie Facilier.

“Oh? And why’s that?” Freddie ased, Claudine scowled. If she didn't owe Antoine Tremaine for saving Clara she wouldn't even be there.

“Because if we don’t, Mal will take over the entire Isle. We could be amazing together, but we got so caught up in our father’s feud that we forgot who the _real_ enemy is.” She told Freddie, and it was only Etta's hand on her shoulder that stopped her from lunging forwards and throttling the elder Facilier Sister.

“Sheach?" Freddie asked, sounding mildly amused

"Auradon" Claudine replied "But Sheach too"

“Once we get off we can go back to hating each other” Etta added. “We only have to work together long enough to bring down the new barrier.”

“What do we get in return if we help you?” Celia asked.

“Freedom.”

  
  


"Been told yer responsible fer the reduced scarring." Harry stated as he sat down beside her, thanking her with actually admitting that he was grateful. Lottie looked away, her back itching as Diego's terrified face flashing through her mind.

"Yeah, well, it's easier when you can see what you're doing." A question burned in her mind, the same one he probably had. _Who hurt you? Who carved what they thought to be the truth into your skin, made you carry that for the rest of your life?_

"Usually is." he agreed, staring out over the water. They were perched on the rocks under the docks, her go-to place for when the world got too loud. She’d ask how he knew how to find her, but Jaz had been the one to show her the place to begin with. It wouldn’t surprise her to learn that Jaz had been shown how to get down to the rocks by her brother.

"It gets easier." She offered, instead of asking the questions bubbling in her head "The longer they're there, the less they hurt. I can go days without noticing them now, weeks even."

"Ah, but yers arenae on yer chest." That was true. She'd never actually seen the words painted across her back, relying on the others to tell her what they said. He paused, clearly coming to the same conclusion. "Ye dinnae ken what they say, dae ye?"

"Worthless." Lottie replied, because that’s what it said. "Useless. Psycho. Diego fixed me up after, told me what they said. I thought it they were true back then. Still do, on the bad days."

"When-"

"Years ago.” She answered the question before he could finish asking it. “Back when all I knew was Hell Hall, when I thought Hector was weird for being blond. After my first bad day. I'd hurt Jace, his dad and uncle didn't take it well. They hurt me, I hurt them, I kept the knife and called it even." She hadn't shared that with anyone before, had refused to tell Diego where the scars had come from.

"How long afore ye ran?"

"Bit over a year? That was one of the things that lead to it." Cruella offering her in a deal for a fur coat had been the final straw in a very big pile of things. "I bolted after I met Mal. She saw the words, believed them, listened when people told her I was broken.” She hadn’t wanted to work for Mal, but a part of her had still ached when the half-fae tossed her aside. “Released me from whatever agreement Cruella had with Maleficent." She paused, staring out at the water "It's strange, there's no magic here, but I felt lighter when she said she didn't want me, like chains or something had fallen off me." Like there was a version of her lying dead on the ground, a potential her, the person she'd have been if Mal had wanted her.

"So ye went and sold yer soul t' Uma." Harry stated dryly. That wasn’t entirely true. She _had_ sold her soul to Uma, but Uma wasn’t the first. The first had been Jaz. She hadn’t intended to sell her soul at all really, but she’d bolted out the window that night with two different names on the tip of her tongue—a nickname already being buried inside her—one that she’d been born with that didn’t quite fit and one she’d found that fit a lot better than the first but still wasn’t _right_. She hadn’t realised she could sell her soul to Jaz—neither of them realised the pirate had magic in her, however small it was—and so she had told the pirate both. Jaz had twisted all three names—the two she’d told her and the one she’d buried—together almost, created a name that _did_ fit. Jaz had turned Carlota and ‘Lota and Charlotte into Lottie and Lottie had repeated the name with her _full_ name—Lottie Anita De Vil—and got Jaz’s full name—Jasmine Clover Hook—in return. Technically, they'd sold their souls to each other. But Lottie had said hers first, and Jaz was the only one out of the two of them who had magic anyway so it was a bit of a moot point.

"Like you're one to talk." She shot back, rather than trying to explain that Uma had only ended up with her soul after Jaz had the brilliant idea to join the _Lost Revenge_ crew. Everyone knew that Harry had given Uma his full name the moment they met. Whether or not he was aware of what he was doing was up for debate, Harry himself refused to comment on it. The way Harriet told it, he probably had been, but Harriet was the one who’d had to sort out the whole mess, so maybe she was just annoyed about that fact, even years later.

"Touché." They sat there like that for a while, two broken kids with words others thought were true carved into them. Whether or not they actually were remained to be seen.

"How do you deal with them?" She eventually asked "The days where you want to burn the world and dance on the ashes." The days where the voices in her head wouldn't stop screaming, saying Jaz was out to get her or that her mother had never really left the Isle and was just waiting for her to let her guard down.

"Real or not real." He answered, after an even longer pause. "There's a clock ticking. Real or not real?"

"Not real, I think. I don't hear one."

"I dinnae hear it either. Was just an example."

“My mother left the Isle.” She tried “Real or not real?”

“Real. She’s gone, they all are. Only person left on this rock that wasnae born here is Tremaine.”

  
  


“Legume” Toni paused, putting the washing back in its basket as she spotted Antoine Tremaine.

“Tremaine” She returned. “What do you want?”

“An alliance.” The aristocrat offered. “it’s beneath me to team up with peasants, but the other option is _pirates_.” he spat the last word and Toni rolled her eyes.

“You know, if you want to make an alliance with someone, it’s best to start by _not_ insulting them” Toni stated, signalling for Junes and Third to stand down. For once Tremaine wasn’t there to start a fight.

“Do you want an alliance or _not_?”

“Give us one good reason why we should.”

“Because I’ve already convinced the Frollo and Facilier sisters to stop fighting each other.” that made Toni pause. Claudine and Freddie had been fighting each other for as long as anyone could remember. “On top of that, if we want to stand a chance against Sheach, we’ll need to get Hook and Strand on our side.”

“I see. You only came to me because you think Strand is more likely to listen to us because she has Gil for a second mate.”

“See, I knew you were the smart one Gastonique.” Toni had a knife at his throat the moment her full name left his lips.

“Call me that again. I _dare_ you.”

  
  


Uma paused as she entered the Chip Shoppe. Jaz had come bursting into her cabin, clearly panicked as she rambled about Lottie being missing. Said missing girl was seated on the edge of the stage, swinging her legs and talking to Harry, who was playing the organ.

"The Shoppe's flooded." Lottie stated, staring intently at the floor.

"Not real." Harry replied

"You didn't even look." Lottie accused, twisting to glare at his back.

"Ye feet wet?"

"No."

"Then there's nae water."

"Jaz hates me."

"Not real. The little shit adores ye."

"One day she's gonna realise how much trouble I am-"

"If she hasnae realised yet Lottie, she never will."

"I ran away."

"Statement or question?"

"Statement. I ran away from Cruella and now I'm running from Jaz-"

"Hardly running from someone when yer talking to their brother. Besides, it's one bad day. Everyone gets them. Ours just happen to be... a bit more destructive."

"Last time you had a bad day you almost killed Clay Clayton for making fun of Gil. Which, he didn't even do." Lottie deadpanned, looking up and freezing as she finally spotted Uma. "Uma's in the doorway. Real or not real?"

"Real." Uma stated, moving towards them.

"Captain" Harry greeted, leaving the organ and dropping down to sit on the edge of the stage next to Lottie. "What brings ye 'ere?"

"It's my shop Hook." She came to a stop in front of them. "Since when did you two start hanging out behind everyone else's backs?"

"Since we realised we had a bit more in common than everyone thought." Harry replied, crossing his arms over his chest, Lottie hunched her shoulders slightly. Oh, of course. The words. Harry still refused to say who'd done it and Lottie never even acknowledged hers unless someone she trusted brought them up.

"Let someone know next time you plan on vanishing. I can't keep dealing with a panicked Jaz Hook." They both smiled slightly at that.

"Jaz does like to panic" Lottie agreed, her smile fading slightly "It's just... it's been a long week."

"That's an understatement." Harry elbowed her in the ribs. "Still, at least ye can't burn the Isle down on yer bad days"

"Is that a challenge Hook?"

"No. It isn't." Uma cut in before Lottie could actually run off and blow something up. The former De Vil laughed.

"I promise I won't blow anything up."

"You'd better not. Captain's orders."

"Hey, Uma?" Gil called as he walked into the shoppe. "Uh, Toni's here. Says she wants to talk to you and Harriet."

"What does your sister want?" Uma asked as she moved towards the door, not needing to look behind her to know Harry was following.

"An alliance."


	7. Be(a)st

~~Antoine~~ ~~Tremaine~~

_Tale as old as time_

~~Junes~~ ~~Legume~~

_True as it can be_

~~Third~~ ~~Legume~~

_Barely even friends_

~~Sammy~~ ~~Smee~~

_Then somebody bends_

~~Harriet~~ ~~Hook~~

_Unexpectedly_

~~Toni~~ ~~Legume~~

High King Adam was a good king, a just king, a wise king, a fair king. Or, at least, that’s what he told himself.

Jane Robinson

 ~~Claudine~~ ~~Frollo~~

_Just a little change_

Melody Hampton

 ~~Ginny~~ ~~Gothel~~

(He wasn’t. One just had to look at his first official proclamation—the Isle—to see that)

Opal Facilier

 ~~Diego~~ ~~De~~ ~~Vil~~

_Small to say the least_

Lynn Forsberg

 ~~Shan~~ ~~Jun~~

For the royals, life was perfect, they had everything they could ever ask for. Adam even worked with several of the other kings to keep everything exactly as it was.

Loire Strand

 ~~Jonas~~ ~~Anker~~ , ~~Ofydd~~ ~~Llewelyn~~

_Both a little scared_

Dominic Klein

 ~~George~~ ~~Bumpass~~ , ~~Alex~~ ~~Elwyn~~

For the lower classes, life was hard. The day’s work was never done, the royals demanded more and more for less and less.

Ameera Sultan

 ~~Aaliyah~~ ~~Tremaine~~ , ~~Olivia Miller~~

_Neither one prepared_

Danny Robinson

 ~~Dalila~~ ~~Tremaine~~ , ~~Olwen~~ ~~Llewelyn~~

For the magic users, life was impossible. One wrong move got you banished.

Ana Strand

 ~~Jade~~ ~~Amjad~~ , ~~Hadie~~ ~~Hadeson~~

_Beauty and the Beast_

Sam Klein

 ~~Clay~~ ~~Clayton~~ , ~~Seff~~ ~~Scarson~~

It was a genocide, really, High King Adam Best’s reign. He assimilated the nations into one country, overthrew their rulers and slowly wiped out their cultures.

Sebastian Klein

 ~~Gil~~ ~~Legume~~

_Ever just the same_

Ben Best

 ~~Harry~~ ~~Hook~~

Auradon is a nation where the sun always shines, with a ruler who forgot that sometimes what plants need isn’t sun, but rain.

Anxelin Fitzherbert

 ~~Jay~~ ~~Amjad~~

_Ever a surprise_

Ruby Fitzherbert

 ~~Swift~~ ~~Bergen~~ , ~~Paul~~ ~~Korbich~~

(the Isle is a nation where the sun never shines, full of Auradon’s rain and ultimately ruled over by a Beast that doesn’t care that watering a plant too much will kill it.)

Fa-Li ~~Lian~~ Lonnie

 ~~Mal~~ ~~Sheach~~

_Ever as before_

Chad Charming

 ~~Amy~~ ~~Wyatt~~ , ~~Elliot~~ ~~Mills~~

Every little girl has pastel pink dresses that come down to her knees. Every little boy has baby blue suits that are always prefect. Every child smiles wide because they’re happy, aren’t they?

Doug Klein

 ~~Bobby~~ ~~O’Connor~~ , ~~Bonny~~ ~~O’Connor~~

_Ever just as sure_

Audrey Ruskin

 ~~Uma~~ ~~Strand~~

The boys are the leaders, always, because men lead. The girls are taught to be seen and not heard, because women stay home and look after the children.

Ally Lidell

 ~~Hermie~~ ~~Bing~~ , ~~Aaren~~ ~~Tremaine~~

_As the sun will rise_

~~Azrail~~ Aziz Sultan

 ~~Daniele~~ ~~Tremaine~~ , ~~Hector~~ ~~De~~ ~~Vil~~

(the Isle is full of children that wear whatever they can get their hands on, who couldn't care less about gender roles or expectations. Being polite and pretty doesn't put food on the table after all)

Arabella Fosberg

 ~~Evie~~ ~~Fürst~~

_Tale as old as time_

Jane Bonheur

 ~~Maddy~~ ~~Mim~~ , ~~Basil~~ ~~Heart~~

When his son, Prince Benjamin Florian Best was born, the celebration lasted for three weeks.

Gordon Klein

 ~~Big~~ ~~Murph~~ ~~Foley~~ , ~~Owain~~ ~~Llewelyn~~

_Tune as old as song_

Tara Mishra

 ~~Zevon~~ ~~Ureña~~ , ~~Mitzi~~ ~~Strand~~

When, nine months later, Princess Audrey Rose Ruskin was born, it was decided that she would marry his son on her eighteenth birthday and that they would be the next High King and Queen of Auradon. They will, Adam thinks, continue his legacy.

Lucy Darling

 ~~Ella~~ ~~Legume~~ , ~~Danny~~ ~~Cummings~~

_Bittersweet and strange_

Tegan Morris

 ~~Rick~~ ~~Ratcliffe~~ , ~~Gonzo~~ ~~Vela~~

(Adam doesn’t see the people these children will become, Ben’s kind heart and Audrey’s shrewd mind.

He doesn’t see how Ben spends hours staring across the water at the Isle.

He doesn’t see how Audrey watches him with narrowed, suspicious eyes when he talks about the future.

He doesn’t see how they not only tell each other everything, but tell their friends too.)

Morrissey Abano

 ~~Owena~~ ~~Llewelyn~~ , ~~Sally~~ ~~Smee~~

_Finding you can change_

Cordelia Van Amstel

 ~~Freddie~~ ~~Facilier~~

(He dismisses them as children and forgets how stubborn children can be, how big children can dream.)

Cedric Klein

 ~~Delhine~~ ~~Tremaine~~ , ~~Ettie~~ ~~Legume~~ , ~~Andi~~ ~~Blackburn~~

_Learning you were wrong_

Kaida Thatch

 ~~Abigail~~ ~~Tremaine~~ , ~~Lucy~~ ~~Eiding~~

(Maybe, just maybe, if he’d paid attention to the children—both Auradon’s and the Isle’s—he’d have seen this war coming.)

(They did)

Alexandra Pendragon

 ~~Mason~~ ~~Proctor~~ , ~~Hali~~ ~~Strand~~

_Winter turns to spring_

Wade Hampton

 ~~Jaz~~ ~~Hook~~

He got monthly reports from Yen Sid about the Isle, about the children there.

Fa-Li ~~Sying~~ "Li'l Shang"

 ~~CJ~~ ~~Hook~~

_Famine turns to feast_

Emrys Morris

 ~~Sue~~ ~~Angel~~ , ~~Connn~~ ~~e~~ ~~r~~ ~~O’Connor~~

He didn’t bother looking further, past the names and crimes listed on the front page.

(He didn’t see the injury records, how so, _so_ many of them were trying to break away from their parents)

Matthew Darling

 ~~Harry~~ ~~Badun~~ , ~~Penny~~ ~~Pinney~~

_Nature points the way_

Gus Klein

 ~~Hector~~ ~~Hadeson~~ , ~~Bekki~~ ~~Hurst~~

He saw their parents names and dismissed them as hopeless, rotten to the core. Monsters to the bone

(he was the one that doomed them to a place where they had to act like that)

Camilla Charming

 ~~Bri~~ ~~Turnbull~~ , ~~Jace~~ ~~Badun~~

_Nothing left to say_

Nerida Von Amstel

 ~~Eddie~~ ~~Balthazar~~ , ~~Denise~~ ~~Tremaine~~

(Who's the _real_ monster then?)

Coburn Dunai

 ~~Deux~~ ~~Lefou~~ , ~~Cadeyrn~~ ~~Heart~~

_Beauty and the Beast_

Isla Strand

 ~~Carlos~~ ~~De~~ ~~Vil~~

(he called Ben his legacy, but this—this hell hole he built, these children of the Isle he dismissed out of hand, this kingdom built on the backs of his people, these children terrified to step out of line, to be anything other than happy and perfect and 'normal'—this is his legacy too.)

Emily Radcliff

 ~~Charlotte~~ ~~De~~ ~~Vil~~

_Certain as the sun_

Talia Mishra

 ~~Desiree~~ ~~Chevalier~~ , ~~Jack~~ ~~Burton~~

This is the legacy Adam Best left behind, a generation split in half.

Mark Darling

 ~~Osian~~ ~~Llewelyn,~~ ~~Celia~~ ~~Facilier~~

_Rising in the east_

Conway Irvin

~~Yzla Ureña, Aysel Strand~~

Half tortured and traumatised, almost broken beyond repair and unwilling to show even the slightest hint of positive emotion lest it be used against them.

Baily Klein

 ~~Aysu~~ ~~Strand~~ , ~~Ada~~ ~~Tremaine~~

_Tale as old as time_

Hal Klein

 ~~Madge~~ ~~Mim~~ , ~~Aidan~~ ~~Adler~~

Half scared to be anything other than happy, petrified that if they try to break out of the “Happily Ever After” mould their parents set, terrified that if they let the magic brewing under their skin show they’ll be banished to the Isle.

Alexis Weiss

 ~~Howie~~ ~~Redford~~ , ~~Clara~~ ~~Frollo~~

_Song as old as rhyme_

Marina Abano

 ~~Francis~~ ~~Florentino~~ , ~~Wendy~~ ~~Clayton~~

Both thinking the other side is the free one, when they’re all equally trapped.

Calder Van Amstel

 ~~Diane~~ ~~Tremaine~~ , ~~April~~ ~~Tremaine~~

_Beauty and the Beast_

~~Peppino~~ Pin Lagurdia

 ~~Bleddyn~~ ~~King~~ , ~~Murphey~~ ~~Strand~~

(A golden cage is still a cage after all.)

 ~~Addison~~ ~~Tremaine~~ , ~~Joe~~ ~~Gough~~

_Tale as old as time_

~~Ivy~~ ~~De~~ ~~Vil~~ , ~~Raine~~ ~~Heart~~ , ~~Layla~~ ~~Rourke~~ ,

High King Adam was a good king, a just king, a wise king, a _fair_ king.

 ~~Dominique~~ ~~Tremaine~~ , M ~~aisy~~ ~~Mim~~ , ~~Iara~~ ~~Strand~~ ,

_Song as old as rhyme_

~~Squeaky~~ ~~Smee~~ , ~~Squirmy~~ ~~Smee~~

Or, at least, that’s what he told himself.

(He wasn’t.)

 ~~Georgie~~ ~~Gothel~~ , ~~Jill~~ ~~Whyte~~

_Beauty and the Beast_

~~Carl Simms, Dizzy Tremaine, Babs Sykes~~

(His sins have names. ~~**_Count them_**.~~)


	8. Trying

Toni held her head high as she strode through the docks, Junes and Third flanking her. Père would be furious to know that his daughter was in charge rather than his sons, but Toni didn’t particularly care. In all honesty, she hadn’t cared about Père’s opinion in years. She’d cared about what Mère and her tantes thought, still cares about what her soeurs and frères think, but Père? Never in a million years. Uma Strand had agreed to host a meeting between the various gang leaders at the Chip Shoppe, it meant that she was leading her brothers out of their territory—as reduced as it was—and dangerously far into Strand and Hook’s, but it also meant there was no danger of what was said getting back to Mal unless someone in the meeting betrayed everyone.

Gil was the one to greet them at the door and Toni relaxed slightly at the sight of him. She was not foolish enough to think that his mere presence would stop Strand and Hook from turning on them, but it was good to see him alive and well still.

The tables in the shop had been arranged in a loose circle, enough for each leader to have a table to themselves, the unused ones stacked to the side. Strand and Hook were already seated, at tables placed slightly closer together than any of the other tables. The eldest Smee was stood behind Hook with Hook’s younger brother next to Strand. Toni took her seat, watching as Gil went to stand with the younger Hook behind Strand.

The other leaders slowly trickled in, lead by various pirates that quickly made themselves scarce. It had been intentional then, that it was Gil that met her at the door. It was probably a reminder to Toni of where Gil stood in all of this, but it could also just be Gil wanted to greet his siblings. She’d have to look into sending Ettie, Ella and Deux down at some point if an alliance actually took off, they’d all missed their frère (even if Deux wasn’t actually related to Gil at all).

Toni hadn’t been surprised when her little brother had run off to join the pirates, he’d been trailing after Strand and the Hook boy for years, staying away for longer and longer, coming back less and less. It was only a matter of time before he never came back at all.

  
  


Harriet wasn’t surprised that Toni Legume was the first to turn up, her twin brothers at her back as she walked in like she owned the place. Harriet had never personally had problems with the Legume siblings, but she knew what the Legume girl was capable of. Just like Charlotte and Harry had the reputation of being insane, Toni Legume had a rep for talking her way out of things. Before, she’d been considered a fairly neutral party, someone you could call in to settle disputes fairly—or as fair as the Isle got. But once the adults left and Mal started taking over Toni was quick to establish herself as a threat with her brothers as her enforcers.

Frieda Facilier was next, her sister Cecilia on her heels.

Claudine Frollo came after the Facilier sisters. Interestingly enough, she was alone, no younger sisters in her wake.

Antoine Tremaine was last, walking in like he owned the place. Harriet really wanted to punch his smug little face in, but that would get them nowhere.

  
  


Antoine knew he was the last one to enter the pirate’s Shoppe. Or, what they called a Shoppe. It was little more than a run-down shack on the water’s edge really, just like their ships were floating piles of junk.

Mim and Gothel were both absent, so were Scarson and Shan. He hadn’t been able to find either Scarson or Shan to talk to, and Mim and Gothel were both unwilling to listen to him, too busy trying to take each other out. De Vil wasn’t present either, but his group had been taken over by Sheach, with only Charlie Devil slipping through Sheach’s fingers, even if nobody actually knew _how_ she managed that.

“Right.” Hook stood up as he sat down. “Tremaine. This whole thing was your idea, care to explain?”

“It’s quite simple. We’re all getting pushed back but Sheach and her group, if we don’t band together, they will destroy us.”

“ _You_ keep getting pushed back” Strand countered. “We’re fine.”

“But for how long, _Shrimpy_?” The youngest Legume boy and Hook’s brother both lunged for him, but Strand halted them.

“You know what I’m hearing right now? You need us. So maybe _not_ insult the people you’re relying on for protection. That being said, if you call me that again there won’t be enough of you left to identify the body.”

“You claim to be fine” Facilier interrupted, “but just yesterday you had to mount a rescue mission after Sheach stole your first mate, from your own territory no less. Sounds to me like it’s you that needs our help.”

“It sounds to _me_ , that Sheach is a menace that, if left to her own devices, will destroy us all.” Legume cut the argument off before it could start. “This meeting is supposed to be about an alliance, _not_ aiming barbs and thinly-veiled threats at each other.”

“Legume is right.” Frollo stood, slamming her hands down on the table. “She is playing at being a god, a sin worthy of the deepest pits of hell.”

“Frollo. So nice of you to contribute.”

“I’m only here because I owe you for saving Clara. Once this is over, my debt is paid and you’d better leave me and mine the hell alone. You hear me?”

“Of course Claudine. I wouldn’t dream of doing anything else.”

  
  


Lottie frowned as she noticed a shadow creeping along the ground. Jaz would have announced her presence, and she was the only one who ever came to talk while Lottie was on lookout duty. The other lookout—Sally Smee—was on the other side of the docks.

Crouching down, she followed the shadowed figure as it grew closer and closer to the Chip Shoppe—and the meeting happening inside. She had tow options. Confront the figure herself, or report it and get back-up. She glanced between the two for a moment, before her mind was made up. There was a maze of buildings for the figure to get past before it hit the Chip Shoppe. By contrast, it was a few buildings away by rooftop. She could go there and get back before the figure was even close enough to notice anything more than the lights on inside.

  
  


Toni jumped slightly as the window slammed open, a black and red blur flying through and landing in front of Strand. Charlie Devil stood up.

“What?” Hook snapped. Charlie Devil moved to stand between them, quickly muttering something.

“Gil, go deal with it.” Strand ordered. Her brother nodded, darting out the back of the shop. Charlie Devil turned around “Charlotte. Use the fucking door.” said girl scowled, stomping her feet as she followed Gil out.

“Is- is that normal?” Frollo asked, their previous conversation completely disrupted by Charlie Devil.

“Charlie Devil’s go-to solution to any and every problem is to jump out the window.” Strand stated. Hook pinched her brow.

“Unless you tell her otherwise, or there’s no other option, she refuses to use doors.”

“Unless diving out the window means one of her books will get ruined.” Smee added, Toni got the feeling that they’d be getting no more done that night.

“Devil has books?” Tremaine asked, incredulously. Which was fair. All the books on the Isle were either in Dragon Hall or had been taken by the adults when they left “Where-”

“Found ‘em a few years back on a barge.” Hook’s brother spoke for the first time that night. “Got the crew dragged ‘em back. Been doing Story Time in the mornings ever since.”

“Story Time?” Facilier laughed “What the hell is Story Time?”

“Come back early tomorrow morning” Hook offered “You’ll see what we mean by Story Time.”

  
  


“Report” Uma demanded as Lottie and Gil walked back into the Chip Shoppe after the meeting had ended. Sally, Jaz, CJ, Skipper and Sterling had already arrived, spread around the room and chatting amongst themselves. Uma and Harry hadn’t moved since Gil left, neither had Harriet or Sammy.

“It was Zevon. Dunno if he was sent by Sheach or not. Fucker ran the moment he realised Gil was with me. Either assumed Harry was too, or—rightly—that we’re pissed about what Sheach did.” Lottie stated, perching on the edge of the stage.

“So there’s a good chance Sheach knows that we met up. Great.” Harriet muttered. “We’ll just have to be more careful from now on.”

“There’s going to be more then?” Sally asked.

“Everyone was open to the idea of an alliance.” Sammy replied “Whether or not it’ll last beyond taking down Sheach remains to be seen.”

“We still don’t know if it’ll last that long.” Jaz pointed out.

“Either way, we need to stay vigilant. Nobody goes anywhere alone.” Harriet ordered “Understood?”

**Author's Note:**

> I want to go home, but there's no home to go to  
> I want to run, but there's nowhere to run to  
> Our parents are gone, they left us alone  
> Trapped in a land that was never our home.  
> I don't want to fight, but I don't want to die.  
> What use is screaming and cursing the sky?
> 
> Time is broken, but it's still running out  
> The end is coming, there isn't a doubt.  
> As we watch the seconds melt away,  
> Promise me you'll always stay  
> Your hand in mine throughout the fight  
> Maybe, one day, we'll see the light.


End file.
